The New York Yankees have a rich heritage. On that we can all agree, but within that heritage is a link from one generation to the next where superstars have passed the torch and carried the flame that has dominated professional sports since the 1920s.

Ruth passed it on to Gehrig. Gehrig to DiMaggio. DiMaggio to Mantle. And Mantle to Munson. The only break in the link was the era after Munson’s death and the rise of Don Mattingly. And in 1995, Mattingly passed the torch to another future Yankee Captain, as well as the player would would ultimately invoke the most honorable names in this lineage. Derek Sanderson Jeter.

Much has been written about what Derek Jeter means to the Yankees organization as well as his place in the history of this franchise and as the great game of baseball. But Jeter, like all of the others before him, is immortal in name only. His playing days will some day, come to an end. The torch will have to be passed. But now the Yankees have another candidate, the next legend on their roster.